


left on read

by galaxy_houseplants



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Matt, First Kiss, Getting Together, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Foster Siblings, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Texting, broganes, not a text fic but it's there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-08-25 14:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16662377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxy_houseplants/pseuds/galaxy_houseplants
Summary: “God, just send the text, Keith!” said Pidge, exasperated. “I have to go in like, two minutes, please just send it or you never will, because I am the only reason you do anything, ever.”“Just ‘cause you’re accurate, doesn’t mean you’re interesting!” said Keith, head in his hands.





	1. keith

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [оставил прочитанным](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19040203) by [missydawnx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/missydawnx/pseuds/missydawnx)



“God, just send the text, Keith!” said Pidge, exasperated. “I have to go in like, two minutes,  _ please  _ just send it or you never will, because I am the only reason you do anything, ever.”

“Just ‘cause you’re accurate, doesn’t mean you’re interesting!” said Keith, head in his hands. “Here, you send it!”

“Ugh, you are the worst. Fine.” Pidge snatched the phone from Keith and hit send on the text to Lance. “It’s done. Congrats, bud, you just asked your crush out. Or, I asked him out for you.”

“Oh my  _ god,  _ he had better reply, I don’t want to go to class tomorrow and have to say anything to his face about this.” Keith was pacing around his room, randomly picking things up and fiddling with them. Pidge sighed.

“You’re such a gay disaster.” She ducked as Keith threw a pillow at her, muttering something like ‘says you, trash lesbian.’ “Anyway, I really have to get home. Remember we have a maths test tomorrow!”

“Ugh. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Or don’t. That’s fine. Bye, asshole.”

“See you, bitch.” Keith flopped down on his bed, not sure what to do with the rest of his evening. It was only 4 pm, but Pidge had to leave for some family thing, so he was just planning on relaxing, but now Pidge had convinced him to confess to Lance that he’d been in love with him for two years out of nowhere, and he wasn’t really in the mood for chilling.

He quickly turned on his phone to check if Lance had read his message. God, nothing. Keith didn’t know if he was happy or sad about this.  _ What would be worse,  _ he thought,  _ for him to read it and not reply, or not read it and have to ask him about it tomorrow?  _ He turned on notifications on his phone so he would know if Lance read it, and walked through the flat to the kitchen to grab some snacks. He ate them in the kitchen, desperate to kill time and distract himself from his phone. He went and played a few rounds of Mario Kart, then walked around the block, and after an hour he decided he should check his phone.

He opened it up, and opened the text conversation.

_ Read 4.35 pm. _

Keith stifled a shriek and threw his phone across his bed. Just as he did, Shiro was walking past his room on the way to the lounge to grab something, and knocked on his door, concerned.

“Everything alright, Keith?”

“No! But it’s okay!” He heard a groan from Keith.

“I’m coming in.” He pushed the door open, and saw Keith lying face down on his bed.

“Oh my god. What happened?” Shiro sat down on the chair at Keith’s small desk.

“ _ Lance  _ happened, Shiro!” Shiro gasped dramatically.

“Did you tell him? Did he ask you out?”

“First one. And he left me on read! It’s been half an hour since he read my text!” Shiro shook his head, laughing.

“You confessed your undying love- hey, stop throwing pillows at me!- you confessed your undying love to Lance over  _ text?  _ Who  _ raised  _ you?”

“You did! Ugh, leave me alone in my misery.” Keith whined. Shiro kept laughing, but got up and walked out of Keith’s room. 

“We’re getting takeout for dinner. Have fun.” Shiro shut the door behind him gently, and walked away. Just as Keith was about to text Pidge and tell her that she had officially ruined his life for good and he was going to die alone, someone knocked on their front door. Keith waited a second, thinking he might have heard wrong, but when whoever it was knocked again, even more insistently, he yelled to Shiro that he would get the door, dragged himself off his bed and swung the door open. And then he gasped, louder than he would ever admit.

Because there he was.

_ Lance.  _

_ Blushing.  _ And with messy hair from the wind, wearing a blue flannel shirt, and black jeans, looking so  _ perfect  _ that it made Keith’s traitor of a heart skip.

“Hey. Uh, so, your text.” Lance said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah. You left me on read for half an hour, which doesn’t seem that long but it was kinda stressful for me!”

“I wanted to- to talk to you, face-to-face.” Lance looked awkward, and Keith just wanted to fall through the floor.  _ He’s come here to reject me. Of course. Only Lance. _

“Look, If you’re here to reject me, please be nice about it.” Keith muttered.

“No, you don’t understand, Keith, that’s not-“

“No, I get it. You don’t have to say it, if it’s too weird you don’t have to talk to me anymore, I would understand-“

“ _ Keith.  _ That’s the opposite of why I’m here, actually.” Lance said loudly, to cut Keith off from his rambling.

“Wait. You. Wait, what? You feel-“ Keith covered his mouth with his hand, realising he was gaping, but Lance pushed it down, and didn’t let go. Keith wondered if it was possible for a human to melt into a puddle, because if it was, that was what was happening. Lance stepped forward, and all that was between them was the doorstep and two years of unspoken thoughts. 

And then Lance closed the gap.

His hands were clamped on the side of Keith’s face, but their feet were just separate enough that he was leaning forward and reaching up to Keith’s lips, and it was an awkward angle so Keith stepped down from inside and laced an arm around Lance’s waist to pull him closer until their entire bodies were touching and it was just  _ insane  _ because this was what Keith had wanted for years. And  _ Lance  _ had kissed  _ him  _ first! Lance’s lips were soft against Keith’s cracked ones, and they tasted like strawberry chapstick and  _ oh my God,  _ Keith never wanted them to stop kissing. His thoughts had just been scattered, and the only clear thought in his mind was  _ Lance, Lance, Lance,  _ and he may have moaned a little when Lance weaved a hand through his hair and tugged it lightly, which he would never speak of again. They had to pause for a second to catch their breath, after what felt like no time at all and a thousand years at the same time.

“Does that make sense?” Lance whispered against Keith’s lips, and he nodded. Lance laughed softly, and leaned back in, when Shiro walked out of the kitchen and into the hall.

“Hey, Keith, I’m ordering pizza- oh my god!” Keith whipped around, embarrassed, and Lance cracked up and started wheeze-laughing at Shiro’s face.

“ _ Shiro!  _ Oh my  _ god!”  _ Shiro quickly walked away, grabbing his phone out and furiously texting someone, probably Adam or Matt.

“Alright, lovebirds, pizza will be here in 15. Lance, feel free to join!” Shiro yelled over his shoulder. Lance beamed at Keith, and dropped his hands from Keith’s neck and held both his hands. Keith smiled softly, squeezed his hands, and tugged him inside. 

“C’mon. Let’s go in.” Keith said, but Lance stayed standing.

“Okay, I just want to say to get this over with, but you said in your text that you’ve been in love with me for a really long time, and i wanna say that I love you, too. I have done for- well not as long as you but a while, so, like, wanna cut straight to being boyfriends, maybe?” Lance said quickly, and Keith didn’t catch all of it, but he heard the end.

“Absolutely. I love you. Now, let’s go and eat some pizza, boyfriend.” Lance smiled wider than Keith had ever seen, and quickly kissed Keith on his red cheek and followed him inside, an arm around his waist, and his hair tousled from the kiss, and he had never been happier in his life.


	2. lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for valentine's day, here is the sequel from lance's POV that nobody asked for xoxo
> 
> also yes the dialogue is the same this takes place at the same time as the first chapter

“Hey, Lance, do you think Shay would like it if I brought food to her house? She has a cold.”

“Who wouldn’t, my man? Your cooking is amazing. Way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach.”

“Hmm, this is true. I’ll make her soup.” 

“Reckon that’d work on Keith? If I gave him cookies, he would kiss me?” Hunk laughed and looked back down at his book, just as Lance’s phone pinged from across the room. He scuttled over and grabbed it, reading the notification.

“Oh my god. Hunk. Look. It’s from Keith.” All he could see of the text was ‘ _ hey, Lance, there’s something I have to get off my chest. i love…’ _ before the notification was cut off.

“ _ Lance!  _ Is Keith confessing to you?” Hunk squealed and snatched the phone, about to open the notification.

“ _ Don’t open it!”  _ Lance hissed. “He might be telling me he likes someone else and if I open it I have to respond quickly! Let’s think about this.”

“Dude. Open it. Don’t be a chicken.” Hunk said, giving him a jab in the sides with both his hands. Lance screeched and jumped away, sticking his tongue out at Hunk.

“I’m not a chicken! What if he’s trying to say he likes you or Pidge or Allura and he’s telling me because you’re my close friends!”

“He is  _ almost definitely  _ not saying that, buddy, just please open the text.”

Lance picked up his phone, sighing. He held up his crossed fingers and Hunk crosses his, really hoping he was saying what he thought he was saying. 

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my  _ god, Hunk!”  _ Lance flapped his hands, gesturing wildly.

Hunk’s face brightened. “Read it aloud!”

“Okay, he said ‘hey, Lance, there’s something I have to get off my chest. I love you.’” Lance’s voice raised an octave and Hunk clapped excitedly. “‘I have done for a really long time, and it’s been killing me, so I thought it would be better to just tell you than to keep carrying it around all the time. If you don’t feel the same, or just want to forget this whole thing, that’s okay. But if you do want to go out with me, please tell me, I’m oblivious to any and all hints or flirting or whatever. Blah. Words. Okay, that’s all, have a good day.’ Jesus  _ Christ! _ ” 

“ _ Holy guacamole! _ ” Hunk said, squeezing Lance (internally and externally screaming) in a hug. “Tell him it’s mutual!”

“Wait, wait, wait. I can’t tell him I like him back over text, it has to be in person!”

“But now he knows you’ve read the text. What’re you gonna do, drive for half an hour to his and Shiro’s place and leave him on ‘seen’?” Hunk asked, looking incredulous.

“It’ll be less than half an hour if I’m as speedy as the wind and the waves, dude.”

“That is not an expression, but nice imagery. I have to head home anyway.” Hunk grabbed his book and jacket and got up, slinging an arm over the very excited and lovestruck Lance. “Go get yourself a boyfriend, okay? Also, cut to the chase. He will almost definitely assume you’re rejecting him since you’ve decided not to text him back. Good luck.”

“I’ll tell you how it goes later! Or I won’t, if we have the house to ourselves-“

“Nope! Nope, nope, nope. Have fun, talk to you later, good to hang out with you, goodbye.” Lance bent his head forward and Hunk kissed the top of it (a routine they’d done since they were young kids and Hunk was almost seven inches taller) before rushing to his car and driving away. Lance quickly told his mom he had to go out (not giving any explanation other than ‘I’ll maybe be back for dinner, I’ll be in touch’) and ran outside, closing the door as she yelled at him to tell her where he was going. He jumped into the driver’s seat and drove as fast as was legal through the suburbs, street lights just starting to flicker on as dusk began to settle. Even with little traffic, the drive was still longer than he would have liked, and knowing Keith he would be freaking out.

When he pulled up outside Keith and Shiro’s small house, the knot of nerves in the pit of his stomach tightened just enough for him to almost chicken out before remembering that he was there to accept a date, not to ask for one, and there was almost no way this could go badly. He shut the car door with a bang and locked it before walking through the gate and up to the front door. He knocked on it twice, hesitantly, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and wringing his hands. When the door still wasn’t opening, he knocked again, louder and sharper, and before he could straighten his shirt and run a hand through his hair, the door was being swung open, and there he was.

_ Keith. _

He looked incredibly flustered, and even more incredibly casual- grey sweatpants creased, faded t-shirt displaying tour dates from years ago. His unruly black hair was a mess, flat at the back and sticking up at the top, like he’d been lying on it for quite some time. Keith’s eyes widened, and he took a small step back. He swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Hey. Uh, so, your text.” Lance said, his voice a little rough and crackly. He cleared his throat, scratching the back of this neck, searching for something to occupy his hands with. 

“Yeah. You left me on read for half an hour, which doesn’t seem that long but it was kinda stressful for me!” Lance immediately felt a creeping guilt. He should’ve listed to Hunk.

“I wanted to- to talk to you, face-to-face.” He was stumbling over his words, suddenly unable to get out a decent sentence.

“Look, If you’re here to reject me, please be nice about it.” Keith muttered. Lance mentally shook himself- he was sending the wrong message,  _ oh God _ .

“No, you don’t understand, Keith, that’s not—“ Lance almost desperately tried to get through, finally finding his words, but Keith cut him off again.

“No, I get it. You don’t have to say it, if it’s too weird you don’t have to talk to me anymore, I would understand—“

“ _ Keith.  _ That’s the opposite of why I’m here, actually.” Lance said. Half-yelling Keith’s name. Feeling his gut twist.

“Wait. You. Wait, what? You feel—“

Keith lifted a hand to his mouth. They weren’t far apart- Lance darted a hand forward and caught Keith’s, holding it tightly. He hesitantly stepped forward, making the gap between them just the doorstep. He opened his mouth to say something,  _ anything,  _ to make it completely known that he loved him back, but yet again found himself at a loss for words.  _ Maybe next time someone tells me I talk too much, Keith should just come and stand right next to me, _ some vacant part of Lance’s brain thought. Keith’s eyes flickered to his lips.  _ Screw this. _

Keith’s lips were cracked slightly. They tasted of something Lance didn’t have the words to describe at that moment- maybe coffee, maybe sugar, and somehow familiar. It was like he hadn’t consciously imagined what it would be like to kiss him, and yet, this was exactly how he thought it would be. Lance quietly thanked himself for putting on his nice chapstick before he left the house. Just as he realised Keith wasn’t really kissing back, and almost tore himself away, Keith stepped down from his doorway, wrapping a surprisingly strong arm around Lance’s waist. 

Their bodies were flush together, and Lance’s skin tingled at every point of contact. For a minute, they couldn’t work out their noses and teeth, but they quickly did, and Lance’s frantically moving hands found their way into Keith’s hair. When Keith ran his tongue along Lance’s lip, he shivered, and tugged the strands he had woven his fingers through. Keith let out a quiet almost-moan, and Lance couldn’t believe he was real.

Lance pulled away for a second, panting a little, and yet again thanking his own foresight in having a mint on the drive there. He pressed his forehead and nose bridge against Keith’s, lips barely grazing each other. Keith tipped his head  forward, wanting more, and Lance did too, but he had to make sure his point was fully across. As hard as it was, he placed a soft kiss to his lips and moved to whisper against them.

“Does that make sense?” Lance murmured, an almost reverent tone he hadn’t used since their family went to church when he was a child. Keith nodded, just slightly, and Lance kissed him again, tilting his chin forward, half-laughing with the sheer, overwhelming happiness of it all. A door closed in Keith and Shiro’s house, the front door still wide open behind them.

“Hey, Keith, I’m ordering pizza- oh my god!” said Shiro, who had appeared inside. Keith almost jumped away from Lance, spinning around, and Lance cracked up, wheezing with laughter at Shiro’s expression and Keith’s wide eyes.

“ _ Shiro!  _ Oh my  _ god!”  _ Shiro quickly walked away, grabbing his phone out to text someone.  _ I should tell Hunk it went well. Not now. Later. _ Lance thought.

“Alright, lovebirds, pizza will be here in 15. Lance, feel free to join!” Shiro yelled over his shoulder. Lance grinned at Keith, squeezing his hands, and nodded a little, quickly texting his mom that he wouldn’t be home for dinner.

“C’mon. Let’s go in.” Keith said, but Lance stayed standing where he was, again working up the courage to ask him something else.

“Okay, I just want to say to get this over with, but you said in your text that you’ve been in love with me for a really long time, and i wanna say that I love you, too. I have done for- well not as long as you but a while, so, like, wanna cut straight to being boyfriends, maybe?” Lance said. He knew he had spoken too quickly for Keith to have caught most of it, but decided not to slow down. Keith could just figure it out.

“Absolutely. I love you. Now, let’s go and eat some pizza, boyfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy valentine's day! here's to being single for another year

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to Smedge (pidgethegreatgunderson on ao3 and tumblr) for beta-ing this!
> 
> I love writing broganes and Keith&Pidge friendship, so here we are. Also mutual pining.
> 
> My tumblr is galaxy-houseplants.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
